Earth's Protectors: The Rise of Deoxys
by nld200xy
Summary: It has been ten years since Machoke and Gardevoir saved the world from the mighty Hoopa, and now they've recently had a child. But things are not completely peaceful as a villain from the previous generation has returned seeking revenge on the Mach family, and his plan involves him kidnapping Machoke's baby. Can Machoke get his daughter back and save the world again?
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own the Pokemon franchise let alone the species featured in this story. It is also worth note that this is a follow-up to a series I worked on for a long time called Earth's Protectors, which was heavily inspired by Kinnikuman. (Specifically, it takes place between the first one and the second one) As such, it might be worth it to read the first one and its direct follow-up to get a better understanding of this story, though it is a very, very long read, so I don't blame you if you'd rather not. Though one thing worth note for newcomers, in which I imagine most people reading this would be, since this is based on Kinnikuman, some Pokemon designs have been altered to fit with this reality.

There was once a time when alien beings of various different races came to Earth and were met with harsh treatment. Humans feared and hated them, doing whatever they could to make sure these creatures could never live among them. But that all changed when a young yellow mouse named Pikachu saved the world from a villainous seahorse.

Since then, many others soon rose up and were accepted by humans, vowing to fight and protect them from those who still wished to seize control over Earth. For generations, this went on with dangers frequently being averted. In fact, before this story began, all evil threatening Earth seemed to have been dealt with after an evil being by the name of Hoopa was defeated and sentenced to life in prison.

Our story is set ten years after the event in question took place in the very prison Hoopa was locked in. It was located on a planet not too far from Earth aptly known as Hero Planet.

A pair of security guards, one male and one female, were currently watching over the prisoners as the male took a seat and sighed, "I swear, sometimes I wonder why we even bother with this. It's not as if any of these guys are gonna escape," his partner shrugging and replying, "Hey, it makes our job easier. Though still, I do sometimes envy the other guards. They get to watch over the more recent prisoners while we're stuck with the ones our parents fought."

The male turned to face a snake made entirely out of steel, though due to her old age, her body had rusted over the years and she only had a few teeth left. The guard took a deep breath and said, "Look at Steelix over here. How does a giant snake made of metal look so non-threatening? It boggles the mind."

The female guard shrugged her shoulders and stated, "Still, it's hard to believe some of these guys are behind bars. I mean, look at Deoxys over there," both gazing upon an alien-like being.

He had a reddish-orange metal suit covering all but his face and two of four tentacles on each side, his skin underneath being blue with a purple stripe down the center of his face. He had long tapering legs with segmented blue stripes right above his knees. Each side of his head had a rectangular protrusion that resembled an ear and he had a purple crystalline organ on his chest. Currently, his tentacles were curled in a double helix knot.

Though while his outward appearance was intimidating, his composure was far from it. He was currently slumped down with his legs spread apart, his eyes fixated on the stone floor.

"Just think, he was once one of the biggest threats to mankind," the female stated, "He even had six powerful followers until Machamp and his friends came along and defeated all of them."

Deoxys narrowed his eyelids upon hearing this. He remembered it plain as day. He used to be the scourge of the galaxy, conquering one planet after the next. Earth was almost his until he came to Tokyo and was challenged by seven heroes with their best being a reptilian man with large muscles, four arms and fish lips.

When he and that man fought, things had started heavily in the alien's favour. But in the end, Machamp came out on top with a move he had only just invented, one he called the Ultimate Driver.

Just thinking about it made Deoxys tense up and breathe heavily. However, he stopped when the male guard asking, "Oh, speaking of Machamp, did you hear Machoke and Gardevoir had their child this morning? It's all over the news."

"No way!" the female guard gasped, "I really need to be more up to date with these things!" before turning to her partner and enquiring, "So, have they thought of name for him yet?"

"Well, the kid's name is Machop, but you'll never believe it," the male replied with a grin, "Machop is a girl. Up until now, members of the Mach family have always been male, well, not counting their wives, of course," the female guard looking beyond pleased by this.

However, Deoxys cared not for this information. Somehow, just the fact that the Mach family was still alive and going strong brought out not only great anger but great intrigue. And when the guards mentioned how they were currently living in Tokyo just like Machamp back in the day, this was all the alien needed to know.

With that in mind, he rose to his feet and thought, 'Perhaps it is time to make my return. I've been wasting away in this cell, feeling sorry for myself all these years. But despite my age, I think-' his train of thought cutting off briefly before he took a deep breath and his mind added, 'No, I am one hundred percent certain I can still get my revenge on the Mach family, and I'll start by making sure the next generation won't be a threat to me.'

Deoxys knew that Hero Planet Jail's bars were made from an insanely strong metal that could handle any kind of attack, thus he needed a more creative way to escape. As such, he closed his eyes and fell backward, lying unconscious on the floor while both guards turned and gasped.

"Oh my god!" the male gasped, both running over, "I didn't even think he was that old."

The female shrugged and said, "Oh well. Guess we'd better take him out," opening up the cell and slowly approaching him. However, she rested her hand against his chest first to make sure he really was dead, and sure enough, after a few seconds, she confirmed that the alien had no heartbeat.

Many other villains stared and watched the guards lift up the alien's body and carry him out of the cell. But just as they were ready to head toward the door and let the higher-ups know what was going on, Deoxys opened his eyes and said, "Wow, that was easier than I thought."

The guards had no time to react when he leapt out of their grip, a pinkish-purple aura surrounding his tentacles. He then proceeded to send two into each one's chest, knocking them both out cold while shouting, "COSMIC WHIP!"

However, he was not yet finished. As such, he lifted up both guards, resting two tentacles around each one's head and twisting them hard enough to snap their necks.

The villains all watched this in stunned silence for a few seconds before breaking out into cheers and applause for the alien. Deoxys bowed and said, "Thank you. You've all been a great audience."

But just as he was about to head out the door, he stopped when a white cicada asked, "Hey, aren't you gonna let us out?" Steelix nodding and saying, "Yeah, don't forget us. We all want to help you get revenge."

Deoxys turned to face all of the villains still behind bars and stated, "Well, that is very flattering, and I'd love to help you all out, but I can tell none of you would be of any use to me. You've all weakened significantly with age. No, I need younger fighters on my side."

"Are you for real!?" a red crocodile retorted, "For god's sake, Deoxys, we used to be partners! Are you saying I'm too weak to serve you!?" the alien folding his tentacles and sighing, "As a matter of fact, I am, Krookodile. You were once good help for me, but now you're just as pathetic as I thought I was all these years. Now, if you don't mind, I have a one-way trip to Tokyo to get to," the crocodile looking at her arms to notice she had barely any muscle in them.

With all of this in mind, the alien simply turned and left while all of the villains still locked up watched with helpless expressions in their eyes. Now they were unsure whether or not they wanted him to accomplish his goals.

We now take you to Tokyo, Japan. Today seemed like any other day with citizens going about their everyday lives. And in a lovely house, a twenty five year old greyish-blue reptilian man had just come arrived from a long day of work. With ridges atop his head and a fairly muscly build, this was Machoke. He was currently dressed in a grey business suit and long black pants.

Upon stepping through the door, he stretched and yawned before calling out, "I'm back!" as a high-pitched feminine voice squeaked, "Welcome home, honey!"

Machoke had a wide smile when his darling wife, Gardevoir, entered the room. She was a lovely young woman with a slender build and a lower body that resembled a gown. Her skin was mostly white, save for her arms and hair, which were green. She also had a red spike on her chest, though it was only sharp enough to cut open any clothes she wore and nothing else.

Currently, the woman was dressed in a red jersey that Machoke had bought for her a long time ago and sported a spiked collar around her neck that she never took off. Though most of all, she was currently holding their new-born child, Machop. She looked very similar to Machoke, although she was the first member of his family to have a tail.

The man walked over to Gardevoir and reached an arm around her shoulder, kissing her on the cheek and looking down at his daughter, asking, "Hello, Machop. Were you well behaved for Mommy?" the girl reaching up toward the man.

Seeing this, Machoke leaned in closer only to grit his teeth in pain when Machop took hold of his cheeks and stretched them out. Thus he reeled his head back and groaned, "Damn, she really is a chip off the old block."

Gardevoir giggled and replied, "Yep. I bet she'll even outdo you someday," Machoke rubbing his cheeks and uttering, "Hey, let's not go that far."

He then took a deep breath and sat down on the couch, groaning, "It's funny, even after three years, I'm still not used to office work. As dangerous as heroism was, at least it was exciting. Sitting in a cubicle all day is just boring."

"I know what you mean," Gardevoir sighed, "I do miss the thrill of entering the ring in front of millions, but hey, I kinda like the life we have," Machoke remarking, "Easy for you to say. You're a professional singer. That's at least fun."

Gardevoir took a deep breath and walked over to the man, taking a seat next to him. She then held up Machop who smiled at her father and giggled, reaching out for him again. Machoke turned and smiled as he said, "Well, I guess parenthood is exciting too. Besides, once she's old enough, I can teach her all my best moves," a proud grin on his face.

His wife nodded and tickled Machop's belly, the baby giggling more while she said, "And I can teach her mine too. Though whether she decides to become a hero or not will be up to her," Machoke nodding and replying, "Yeah. Of course," looking back to how his own mother more-or-less forced him to go to Hero School back in his teen years.

He then thought for a few seconds before asking, "Hey, what say we call up the others for a celebration, eh? You know, throw Machop here a little belated birthday party?" Gardevoir giggling, "Most people don't do that until their kid turns one," both looking deep into each other's eyes and exclaiming, "Let's do it!" Machop looking at both of them in confusion.

With that, Machoke immediately pulled out his phone and scrolled through his contacts, calling up Gardevoir's brother, Gallade, first. He had moved to France shortly after his own marriage, so this was a long-distance call, but in the end, it was worth it.

Gallade had a similar colour scheme as Gardevoir, though his body was quite different. His upper body was green while his lower body was white, his head matching that save for his helmet-shaped hair, a blue spike protruding from his skull. His midsection resembled a wide disc and his forearms looked like blades.

He was currently at work, specifically at a bakery where he was currently icing a cake. However, his eyes widened when he felt his phone vibrate in a pair of pants he wore for when he went out. As such, his hands slipped and left a scribbled mess atop the cake, the man grinning nervously while his manager turned to him with her hands against her hips.

After explaining what just happened, he stepped into the break area and pulled out his phone. As soon as he noticed the number, he sighed and answered it, asking, "What do you want, Machoke? You almost cost me my job."

"Oh, sorry," the man uttered with a light sweat drop on the side of his head. However, as soon as he discussed his plan, Gallade's annoyance turned to a big grin, the green man exclaiming, "That's a great idea! I'm sure my boss will understand."

And so, after talking a bit more and hanging up, he went back to his work station and stared at his boss, thinking, 'No, she'd never understand me booking time off for this,' thus he rubbed the back of his neck and uttered, "Uh, Josephine, ma'am, there's a family emergency back in Tokyo. Gardevoir has been in a, er, terrible accident and I need to be there for her as soon as-"

"Can it," the woman sighed, "I overheard your conversation in there," the man staring as she added, "You had your phone on speaker," the other bakers nodding.

She then smiled and sighed, "I think what you're doing is sweet. Go be with your family, alright?" Gallade staring silently with his jaw dropped before giving his boss a hug, shouting, "Thank you so much!"

Josephine's eyes widened while she patted the green man lightly on the back. Then when he let go, she said, "I know I can be hard on you, but you're a hard worker. That one little mishap with the icing is not going to cost you your job. But just so you know, this is officially your vacation this year," Gallade looking down and sighing, "So much for Summer fun. Hitmonchan is not gonna be happy."

Meanwhile, in Texas, a tall humanoid named Blaziken was enjoying her day off. The majority of her was red, though along the back of her head were beige hair-like feathers that also covered her chest and the lower halves of her legs were yellow.

Needless to say, when she saw Machoke call her up, she answered immediately and said, "Howdy," nodding her head as a light smile formed on her face. Thus she rose to her feet and said, "Hell yeah I'm in. I'll see you within the next twenty four hours."

And of course, Machoke called up many others as well. There was a green and white insect named Scyther along with her human wife, Reika. There was also a blue dog named Lucario and a parrot who grew up in Spain but now lived in Tokyo named Hawlucha.

Though there was one person he would dare not forget to call. The one in question was a purple monkey with a big hand on the tip of her tail. This was Aipom, his former trainer who now had her own martial arts school for kids. She had just finished a late lesson with one of her pupils, both bowing to one-another.

"You've done well today, Densuke," she said with a smile as the boy asked, "Are you sure? I still feel like my form might be too sloppy," only for the monkey to shake her head and reply, "Believe you me, you're progressing really well. Just keep at it and you'll be kicking butt in no time."

As soon as the student left, Aipom was just about to lock up for the night when heard a ringing come from her handbag. As such, she walked over and picked up her phone, holding it up to her ear and asking, "Who is it?"

"Hey, Aipom, it's me," Machoke said with a grin as the monkey gasped, "Machoke! You haven't called in a while! What's up?"

"Well, even though it's already a day too late, we're thinking of holding a birthday party for our little Machop," the man explained, "You feel like coming?" the monkey beaming bright and squealing, "Yes! I'd love to come! I'm sure Takashi would love to come too!"

Needless to say, the arrangements had been made. Sure, it would be a while until all of Machoke's friends and family arrived, but he new this would be perfect for his little girl.

Unfortunately, things were not so happy on Hero Planet. It had not been long until the dead bodies of the guards watching over the old villains were discovered. It did not take much for those who did so to notice that Deoxys had escaped from his cell. And while it took a bit of convincing, ultimately, his old allies felt too much spite not to reveal where he was headed.

As such, a meeting was held in a building simply known as the tower of justice. A wasp with large stingers for hands named Beedrill sat before many different heroes, saying, "We have a serious crisis on our hands. Earlier this very evening, Deoxys broke out of prison."

Everyone in the area gasped before a buffalo named Bouffalant spat, "But how!? Our prison bars are so powerful, even I can't break through them!" the wasp sighing, "I don't know exactly how he did it, but some of the other prisoners did reveal his plan. It turns out he's headed to Tokyo. I assume he intends to get revenge on Machamp for defeating him all those years back."

"Well, then, what's the problem?" a pangolin named Sandshrew asked with a shrug, "Machamp doesn't live in Tokyo anymore," Beedrill sighing, "That's true, but let's not forget, one member of his family still lives there."

After a few seconds, everyone gasped as a snake named Seviper enquired, "You don't suppose he plans to take out his anger on Machoke, do you?" the wasp sighing, "I can't think of any other reason he would go to Tokyo. I'm sure even Deoxys knows that Machamp lives here on Hero Planet. If I had to guess, I'd say he's planning more than just vengeance. He intends to end the Mach legacy for good."

Many of the others gasped save for a blue dog named Riolu who simply said, "I'm not too worried. Don't forget, Machoke defeated Giratina, who was far worse than Deoxys could ever be. Not to mention like Giratina, Deoxys has grown weaker with age. If anything, I don't think Machoke is in any real danger."

"Not quite," Beedrill remarked with a serious look in his eyes while he stood up from his seat, "Something we just discovered is that a few villains from this generation have also broken out of their cells and, well, the guards watching them suffered the same fate. I have reason to believe Deoxys must have freed them so they could serve him. Giratina's biggest weakness was that in the end, he preferred to work alone. Deoxys, on the other hand, for as terrible of a person as he is, can work with a team. Machoke may not have it that easy, especially since he and Aipom are the only heroes left in Tokyo."

"So what are you saying?" Riolu enquired, the wasp turning to him and replying, "I'm saying it's time for me to go back to Tokyo. There's no way in Hell I'm gonna sit back and let Machoke and Aipom face this threat alone."

He remembered back when Giratina had been revived and was brought to another dimension known as the Reverse World to regain his health. Back then, Beedrill had gone to Earth in order to help Machoke. In doing so, he had also broken a big rule, that being that the chairman of Hero Planet could not endanger himself in any way, shape or form. And it was now time for him to do it again.

"You guys stay here and make sure nothing else goes wrong," Beedrill stated to the staff members, "I don't want any of you guys risking your lives. Anyway, I've got a call to make," pulling out a cellphone and dialling up his home phone, knowing that his wife would most likely want to join him for this.

After the wasp left the room, Riolu blinked and sighed, "I miss being useful," the others nodding in agreement.

And sure enough, Beedrill's wife, a purple butterfly named Butterfree was completely on board with this. It was not long until both had boarded a small spaceship and were headed toward Earth. But they would need to be quick since Deoxys and six allies he had freed from prison were less than an hour from entering the planet's atmosphere. And with Machoke and the others blissfully unaware of all of this, things were about to get interesting.


	2. Chapter 2

While Deoxys was less than an hour from landing on Earth, Machoke and Gardevoir were making plans for Machop's birthday party. The man looked around the entire dining room and said, "I'm thinking maybe the streamers could go here," pointing at the middle of the ceiling, "Oh, and the banner would go right here," pointing at the entrance.

Gardevoir giggled and said, "I'm sure Machop will be happy either way. She's just a baby. She probably won't even remember this."

The man nodded, remembering how Gardevoir had been raised to always accept whatever happened on her birthdays, whether she got a party or not. As such, he sighed, "I know. I just really want our daughter's big day to be super special, you know?"

While this went on, those who were able to attend the party had boarded planes to head to Tokyo. After the one from Texas took off, Blaziken looked outside and thought, 'It'll be nice to see the old gang together again. It's been far too long.'

Gallade and his wife, a tan boxer with a purple tunic, shoulders that resembled pads and five blunt protrusions coming out of her head named Hitmonchan were on their way from Paris. The green man folded his hands behind his head and said, "I can't wait to see Gardevoir again."

Hitmonchan nodded and replied, "Yeah. Be sure to give her the biggest hug you can when you enter that door. I'm sure she'd expect no less from you," Gallade chuckling and replying, "Well, yeah, she and you are the only girls who get special hugs from me."

The blue dog, Lucario was currently on a flight from London. He had a white circle on his chest where a spike once was, black markings on his face, spikes on his wrists and a cream-coloured upper body. While he was once a powerful rival for Machoke, he was now a really good friend.

He simply folded his arms and looked out the window as a woman seated next to him said, "Hey, you're Lucario. My daughter is a huge fan of yours," the dog smiling and replying, "A pleasure. I'm on my way to a birthday party."

Coming from Germany were two very good friends of Machoke. One was Reika, a human woman with short black hair. However, the other was the green insect, Scyther. Although her head and feet resembled those of a dragon. Her arms were skinny and long and her hands were pretty small, but her shoulders were impressively big and round and her feet had three claws each. She also had four wings on her back that she had spent years never using as her family believed in defeating opponents without having to rely on flight.

"I can't believe it's been six years since we last came to visit," Reika said with a light smile, "I wonder how those two have been doing all this time," Scyther nodding and replying, "I'm mostly curious as to how Machoke is adjusting to fatherhood."

The only one on the guest list besides Aipom who did not have to go anywhere was the parrot, Hawlucha. He had red feathers covering his chest and arms while the rest of his torso had white feathers, his head resembling a lucha libre mask. He also had big green feathers hanging from his arms like a matador cape.

The parrot was currently trying to pick out something to wear for the occasion, groaning, "This would be so much easier with Isabel around. She always knows the best attire for parties," before scratching his scalp and crying out, "Familia, why did you have to move back to Spain!?"

But of course, while most of Machoke's friends were headed to Tokyo, Deoxys and his allies had finally arrived. Their small spaceships, each designed to carry one person, docked in an area just outside city limits as the alien emerged and said, "Finally, we're here. Are you all ready for this?"

Out of one shuttle emerged a small orange lightning rod with a human-like torso made entirely out of pure electrical energy. With ovular blue eyes and sharp teeth, this was Rotom, the first villain Machoke had defeated when he came to Earth.

"I'm looking forward to this," he said with a fiendish grin, "I've been craving revenge on that bastard for eleven years!"

The next to emerge was a large snake made entirely out of rocks with a spike on his head and massive arms named Onix. He clenched his fists and raised them into the air before roaring, "You can have your revenge on Machoke! I'm mainly here because I just know Blaziken's gonna show up and try to help him! I owe her for ruining my perfect track record!"

"You call defeating one hero prior to your loss a perfect record?" came a deep feminine voice from another shuttle. This voice belonged to a grey woman who looked like a yoga practitioner. She had big red lips and a matching headpiece with three bulb-like extensions. Finally, her legs were covered by big puffy pants with yellow spots on the knees. Her name was Medicham and she was the first villain to defeat Machoke in combat only for him to make a comeback and beat her in a rematch.

"Hey, shut up!" Onix retorted, Medicham shrugging and remarking, "I'm just saying I managed to defeat two opponents before my loss, and one of those opponents was Machoke himself. Though for some reason, that fight was never put on record."

"Who cares about that?" came a slightly high-pitched male voice from one shuttle, "At least you got to kick his ass. I'm hoping I get that chance today."

The one who said this was a purple insect made of metal with a head shaped like a flying saucer. She had several grey markings along his body, two large red eyes that resembled car lights and a white mouth that looked like an air vent. Her arms were thin with overlapping segments, a claw on the end of each. And finally, she had a big cannon strapped to her shoulders and positioned over her skull.

Medicham smirked and said, "Keep dreaming, Genesect. I'm here to exact my revenge," the metal insect retorting, "But from what I can gather, your fighting style only stuns opponents! You can't actually defeat them!"

"Please, ladies, save some of that action for me," came an effeminate male voice from one shuttle as a very strange being emerged. He was a humanoid figure with a slender torso and wide hips. His legs were white with spheres on the front, the one on his left leg being pink while the right was blue. His feet were shaped like high-heel shoes and the rest of his body was yellow with alternating pink and blue stripes. He also had a tail like that of a rabbit, a pink right arm and a blue left arm. Finally, his head looked very much like a crystal ball seated atop a large white frill, the ball covered in pink and blue polka-dots.

One last figure emerged and pointed at himself as if to say that he was in on this as well. This particular being was a rectangular four-sided grey stone tower with long arms and legs made up of large bricks. In the middle of his face was a single square hole with a small blue eye in the middle.

"But of course," the colourful being said, "How could I, the great Blacephalon, forget about my faithful friend, Stakataka?" Medicham whispering, "Stakataka? What cruel parent came up with that name?"

"Enough," Deoxys sighed, "I know we're all eager to do this, but as far as I'm concerned, Machoke is mine. You guys are merely here in case I end up overwhelmed, and while I have aged quite a bit over the years, I highly doubt that will happen."

Rotom stared at the alien before grunting, "Why, of all the smug, arrogant-" barking, "What the hell is that shit!? You seriously think you're good enough to defeat Machoke all on your own!? I don't know if you've heard, but that man fought Giratina and defeated him because of his old age! What makes you think you stand a chance!?"

"Easy, because I'm not as old as Giratina," Deoxys remarked, "But I see your point. I used to think I had weakened significantly with age, but after defeating those guards on Hero Planet with ease, I know that I'm still just as strong as I always was. That's why I know I'll win."

Medicham and Rotom were just about to object to this only for Onix to shout, "We're wasting time!" Deoxys turning to face the rock snake and saying, "Thank you. But yes, if by some chance I do need your help, you are all free to jump in at any time. Unlike Giratina, I value my comrades."

That one sentence was all Rotom and Medicham needed to hear. As such, they took a simultaneous breath and nodded before following the alien toward the city. Though they all put on cloaks to hide their true identities first. After all, the last thing they wanted was for someone to alert the heroes of Tokyo of their presence, at least for the time being.

An hour later, Machoke and Gardevoir had put Machop into her crib. The white and green woman sang her a lullaby thus putting her to sleep while Machoke smiled wide and whispered, "She's just so precious. Now the real question is when will she start crying for attention?"

Gardevoir gave the man an odd look when suddenly, the doorbell rang. Machoke blinked and uttered, "Who could that be at this hour?" Gardevoir replying, "I wonder if it's Aipom."

"Couldn't be," Machoke replied, "You know she always goes to bed before ten, plus I told her the party will be within the next couple of days," the man then lowering his eyelids as he sighed, "Oh, I get it. She doesn't trust me to do this right. Well, I'm gonna go give her a piece of my mind."

After hearing the doorbell a second time, he headed downstairs and grumbled, "I heard you the first time, you pain in the-" opening the door only to see seven cloaked figures standing before him.

He stared silently and blinked a couple of times before uttering, "Um... can I help you?" Deoxys lashing out his tentacles and taking hold of the man's neck, replying, "As a matter of fact, you can!"

Machoke's eyes widened while he took hold of the tentacles, Gardevoir racing downstairs and gasping, "Machoke, what's going on!?" only to squeak in panic when she saw the position the man was in.

It was not long until Machop heard the noise coming from downstairs and started to cry. Thus Deoxys turned to face the others and asked, "Would one of you be so kind as to fetch me the monstrosity making that horrible sound? After all, that is the other reason we came here."

Upon hearing that, Machoke gritted his teeth and fumed, anger filling his veins. It was one thing for a villain to try and kill him, but to take away his newborn child was going too far. As such, he took hold of the tentacles and applied all the force he could muster before prying them off of his neck, coughing slightly before regaining his composure and barking, "I don't think so!"

Gardevoir nodded with a serious look in her eyes. But just as she was about to join him, Machoke turned to her and said, "Go to Machop's room and watch over her. I'll take care of these guys."

The woman was about to protest but soon realized this might be the best course of action. As such, she whimpered, "Be careful," and sprinted upstairs.

Deoxys narrowed his eyelids and removed his cloak. And upon seeing the alien under the cloak, Machoke's eyes went wide with horror. He could not believe this was happening, and his fear only heightened when Rotom, Medicham and Onix removed their cloaks as well, the lightning rod and grey woman smirking wickedly at him.

However, the man could not let this get him down when Deoxys raced toward him. Thus he waited for the alien to get close before throwing his hands forward and taking hold of his shoulders. He then proceeded to lift his legs up and plant both feet into the Deoxys' gut.

Deoxys flew a slight ways back but ultimately ignored the pain, saying, "Even at my age, I can still handle blows like this. This is just too perfect," Machoke gritting his teeth and barking, "Oh yeah!? Well then you'll have no problem dealing with this!" racing toward the alien and sending a hard karate chop into his neck.

The others stared in shock while Machoke wrapped his arms around Deoxys and lifted him up, leaning backward for a suplex. However, this time the alien was prepared and thus he threw his tentacles upward and tied them in a knot, planting the tips into the hardwood floor. And with Machoke distracted by this, Deoxys wriggled free from his grasp and flipped himself upright.

"So far, I'm unimpressed," he said tauntingly, "Your father was a much bigger threat than you are. Honestly, I'm amazed two of my teammates actually fell to you. It must have been a fluke."

Machoke fumed and grunted, "Shut up! No it wasn't and I'm gonna prove it!" taking hold of a nearby chair and using it to propel himself off the floor. But when he aimed a flying kick toward Deoxys, the alien simply leaned backward and used his tentacles to bind his arms in place. Machoke's eyes widened as Deoxys then threw his arms backward, ramming his face into the floor and cracking the material open.

"No!" Machoke grunted, slowly pushing himself back up only for Deoxys to curl his tentacles into knots again, this time covering them with the same aura he had used to knock out the guards. He then whipped them toward Machoke and planted the tips into his shoulders, putting bit holes in them as blood flew out and shouting, "COSMIC NEEDLE!"

"Damn, he's good," Rotom uttered, Genesect folding her arms and saying, "Guess he was right. He didn't need us."

Deoxys then proceeded to lift Machoke up and leap into the air, flipping himself one hundred and eighty degrees. And with Machoke's skull aimed at the floor, he shouted, "COSMIC NEEDLE SUPLEX!" ramming the man into the surface as he coughed up a big amount of blood.

"No way," Medicham uttered while she stared at Machoke lying there unconscious.

Had it really been that easy? The same man who had gotten up from all kinds of torment in the past, endured far worse pain and still managed to rise time and time again. It was impossible to believe and yet all of the villains had just witnessed it first-hand.

"Well, that was disappointing," Blacephalon said with a shrug before Stakataka nodded and folded his arms.

"No, it's not over," Rotom grunted, "Don't be fooled. Give him time and he'll-" only for Deoxys to send two tentacles into Machoke's chest, piercing it. The man's eyes rolled to the back of his head as the alien asked, "You were saying?"

Medicham's jaw dropped while even Onix had trouble believing what he had just witnessed. Deoxys noticed this and explained, "Yes, I have heard of the Mach family's amazing resilience, how they can take in all sorts of pain but frequently get up time and time again. His father was the same. That's why I knew when I faced Machoke that I would not make the same mistake I did when fighting him."

All three former villains continued to stare until Genesect said, "Alright, nothing more to see here. Now we got us a baby to kidnap," and thus all but Onix made their way upstairs to the bedroom, the rock snake too large to go into the house.

Upon seeing them enter, Gardevoir squeaked in panic and whimpered, "Don't tell me Machoke already-" Deoxys nodding and saying, "Yes. He actually wasn't much of a challenge, and if you do not wish to meet the same fate he did, you'll hand over the child."

"Wait, the same fate-" Gardevoir murmured before gasping, "What did you do to him!?" Deoxys shaking the blood off of his tentacles.

That was all the woman had to see to get the idea. Tears welled up in her eyes as she frowned and immediately made her way toward the window. She knew she could not take on all six, thus the best she could do was try to escape so she could come back with bigger numbers.

However, as soon as she leapt outside, she met with Onix's tail, which rammed her hard in the face and caused it to bleed. She held onto Machop as tightly as she could, but in the end, it was hopeless when the other villains leapt outside and Deoxys snatched the child from her hands.

"I'll give you props for actually trying, but you never had a chance," the alien said before nodding to the others. Thus they all sported their cloaks again and stole away into the night.

Gardevoir lay on the grass outside and sniffed, tears rolling down her cheeks while dark clouds loomed overhead. And sure enough, thunder clapped and it started to rain. She could not believe this. She had lost both her husband and her daughter in less than an hour.

After lying there for two minutes, she rose up to her feet and sauntered into the house through the back door. And when she approached the entrance, sure enough, she saw Machoke lying there with a big wound on his chest. She made her way over to him and fell to her knees, crying even louder when suddenly, a familiar voice murmured, "Could you keep it down? I'm trying to nap here."

Gardevoir slowly lowered her eyes before noticing Machoke smack his lips. While he was not fully awake, it was clear that somehow he had managed to survive what no one else possibly could have. Sure, he had a knack for getting up from all kinds of torment over the years, but this still felt like a true miracle.

As such, Gardevoir smiled and sniffed slightly, now releasing tears of joy. While she could certainly not let the loss of her daughter go, she could rest a little easy tonight knowing one good thing had come from this whole experience.

All the while, Deoxys had made quite a bit of distance from the house before he looked back and made sure he and the others were not being followed. When he noticed they were not, he took a deep breath and said, "Well, that went far better than expected."

"So, I get the whole idea is to prevent the Mach family from being a threat," Rotom stated, "But in that case, why don't we just kill the kid right now?" Deoxys retorting, "You fool! That is something Giratina would have done. No, my plan is much more fiendish. I intend to raise this child as my own so that she'll fight for us. Think about how much more powerful we'll be with a Mach on our side."

The others stared in awe until Genesect said, "That does make perfect sense," Medicham stroking her chin and saying, "It is risky, but it could work. The perfect revenge," a light smile forming on her face.

"Though where should we go until then?" Rotom enquired, "If we just announce our presence, heroes will come from around the globe to try and stop us. And lord knows Gardevoir might very well form a search party for us."

"Let them try and stop us," Deoxys said with an implied smirk in his eyes, "We'll use this child to lure the rest of Machoke's friends to us, and once they're dealt with, no one can possibly stop us."

However, little did the alien know that he might get his wish sooner than planned. Machoke's friends were still on their way and would be in Tokyo very soon. But would they be able to stop Deoxys and his followers? Would Machoke recover in time to aid them in the upcoming battle?


	3. Chapter 3

A couple of hours had passed since Machoke was defeated and Machop was kidnapped. Currently, Gardevoir was by his side while he lay in their bed, the woman too shaken up by everything to sleep.

However, it seemed as if things were finally starting to look up when a certain flying vessel crash-landed on Earth's surface. And out of the wreckage emerged Beedrill and Butterfree, the butterfly groaning, "Seriously, is this just a thing with you and your father?"

"Hey, it was either that or take our time," the wasp remarked, "I can always just call for another one to bring us back to Hero Planet."

Both bugs then took to the sky and looked around until they spotted seven cloaked figures. It was clear that these were the villains they were looking for, but while Butterfree was more than eager to dive-bomb them, Beedrill tapped her on the shoulder and shook his head.

"But why?" she uttered only for the wasp to explain, "There's seven of them and two of us. Even though we're both total badasses, you know full well that we can't stand up to all of them," Butterfree grumbling, "I hate when you're right."

With that in mind, both simply drifted down toward the group so they could listen in on them and possibly get an idea of what their plan was. However, when Beedrill spotted a baby who resembled Machoke in Deoxys' arms, his eyes widened with panic. Now the bugs were even more curious as to what was going on.

"Wait, did Machoke and Gardevoir-?" Butterfree whispered as Beedrill nodded and whispered back, "Remember, it was in the news very recently. But if they have their child, they must have fought Machoke and Gardevoir already," gulping, "And won."

However, things were about to get much worse when Rotom frowned and grunted, "We can hear you, you know?" both bugs tensing up nervously only for the wasp to let out a rather pathetic meow.

Deoxys frowned and grunted, "Show yourselves!" thus Butterfree rose up and forced her husband to do the same, grunting, "Whatever! We were originally gonna challenge you guys anyway! Now why do you have that baby!?"

The others turned to the alien who simply shrugged and remarked, "We plan to raise this child as our own so she can help us enslave humanity while also using her to lure out guys like you so they can fall to our hands. It's as simple as that."

The wasp stared and uttered, "Okay, that first part makes sense, but doesn't that second part of your plan kind of complicate things?" only for Butterfree to snap, "Who cares!? They're not gonna succeed because we're here to stop them!"

"Machoke couldn't defeat me," Deoxys retorted, "What chance could you possibly have?" Beedrill narrowing his eyelids and grunting, "Chance or no chance, we're still kicking your asses! Come on, honey, let's let them have it!"

Butterfree latched onto Beedrill from behind before both took to the sky. The wasp aimed his stingers toward the villains while the butterfly spun around, forming a twister around herself. Both then flew forward and shouted, "TWIN NEEDLE TORNADO!"

However, Genesect immediately dashed in front of them and charged up the cannon on her shoulders, a ball of bright purple light forming as she exclaimed, "BUG BLASTER!" a beam shooting out and striking Butterfree hard, sending her careening into a lamp post and knocking her out cold.

Beedrill turned and stared at his unconscious wife in terror. He then turned toward Genesect and fumed, barking, "How dare you do that to my wife, you bitch!?"

He proceeded to fly toward the bug when Blacephalon placed his hands against his own head. He then pried it right off and said, "I don't think so."

The other villains stared in confusion while he hurled his head toward Beedrill. The wasp turned to see this just in time for the sphere to fly into his gut, the dots flying off of it to create a fireworks effect when Blacephalon exclaimed, "MIND BLOWN!"

This was just enough to knock Beedrill out cold as Deoxys folded his arms and said, "Most impressive. I can see I made the right choice picking you two as allies."

"You flatter me," Genesect replied with a grin, Blacephalon striking a supermodel pose and saying, "Oh, I'm not that good. Those two just weren't much of a challenge is all."

The alien shrugged and replied, "Nevertheless, that takes care of another threat. And while taking down Hero Planet's chairman would certainly give us a very good reputation, I feel like we could stand to take things a step further and generate more fear and respect from the public."

"What did you have in mind?" Medicham enquired before Deoxys stated, "I want a big tower that I can use as my base. See, back in the day, I used to set one up on every planet that I conquered. It was a symbol of my status as the planet's new ruler."

Stakataka pointed at himself questioningly as Deoxys replied, "No, I don't want it shaped quite like you. I'm thinking something a bit fancier and more current."

"Well, that shouldn't be a problem," Medicham replied with her arms folded, "While it would take humans years to make such a thing, we'll have it built overnight. But where would you like it?" the alien implying a smirk with his eyes and replying, "I'll have it in the same place I had my original tower built."

And so he and the other villains relocated to a nearby construction site and got to work, using any materials they could find. They also brought Beedrill and Butterfree along just in case someone spotted their corpses too early and leaned them up against a wall And while holding Machop and watching the others build, Deoxys looked back to the very first time he had set up a tower back on his home planet, Mercury.

As it so happened, while living there, he had been frequently teased, berated and beaten for his outward appearance. For some strange reason, he looked nothing like any of the citizens there, including his own parents. He was truly one of a kind, and that made him an outcast.

As such, he spent his entire childhood honing his combat skills so that one day, he could exact revenge on his kind. And after reaching adulthood, that was exactly what he did. He proved to be stronger than anyone else on the planet, thus it was easy for him to enslave everyone.

But afterwards, something snapped in his mind. Suddenly, he felt a strong desire to conquer other planets. If it had been this easy for him to take over Mercury, who was to say he could not do the same for the rest of the galaxy? Perhaps he could even rule over the universe. After all, the other planets might very well have been just as judgemental as this one.

'Yes, soon the citizens of Earth will suffer the torment I experienced in my youth,' he thought with his eyes implying a wicked smile, 'No one will stop me this time, no one!'

While this went on, though, the villains failed to notice Beedrill and Butterfree start to move. It seemed much like Machoke, they had miraculously survived the attacks that defeated them. Thus when they opened their eyes, they both gazed upon the half-completed tower, turned to one-another and slowly crawled out of the area. After all, not only were they still too weak to use their wings, but they could not risk being spotted right now.

At around four in the morning, it seemed Gardevoir had finally managed to fall asleep. Even in her panicked state, she could not resist her drowsiness for too long. Thus she was spread out over Machoke and snoring softly.

She was startled when she heard a ringing on her doorbell, bolting upright with her eyes wide open and bags under her eyes. Though due to his condition, Machoke was still asleep, thus Gardevoir smiled at him and kissed his forehead before getting up and heading out of the bedroom. And she would certainly need to answer the door soon since for some reason, the doorbell was still ringing.

When she reached the entrance, she opened it and asked, "Who is it?" squeaking when she noticed Beedrill and Butterfree, the wasp's left arm stinger still pressing the button only for Butterfree to pry it away from it.

Though it only made sense. Judging by each one's condition, Gardevoir could tell it must have taken a lot for Beedrill to so much as lift his arm. Thus she ignored how tired she was and helped the two walk to the sofa so they could rest.

"Thank you," Beedrill gasped, panting heavily with his arms slumped over the back of the sofa while Butterfree sighed, "Drama queen," not willing to admit that she was just as winded as he was.

"What happened to you?" Gardevoir enquired before Butterfree grunted, "Let's just say we had a run-in with someone who we think beat up your husband."

That was all the woman needed to hear as she gasped, "Where are they!?" Machoke's eyes finally opening as he had a look of panic on his face.

Before Beedrill or Butterfree could answer Gardevoir's second question, the man sprang up out of bed and ran downstairs to the living room. He breathed heavily and looked around, barking, "Where is she!? Where's Machop!?" Gardevoir gasping, "Honey, you shouldn't be up right now!" Beedrill and Butterfree both staring silently before remembering this was Machoke of all people.

Soon enough, Machoke was seated on an easy chair across from the sofa. Beedrill and Butterfree had both explained everything that had happened to them, but they also assured the man and his wife that their daughter was unharmed. After all, Deoxys did have far more sinister plans for her.

"He plans to corrupt our daughter!?" Machoke spat with a look of fury in his eyes, "Hell no! I am not letting her become evil! She can follow almost any path she wants, but not that!" rising to his feet only for the pain from earlier to catch up with him.

The man winced and held onto his bleeding chest while Gardevoir walked over to him and gently pushed him back down onto the chair. Beedrill took a deep breath and said, "Relax, okay? There is an upside to all of this. Deoxys and his followers are still in Tokyo and have no plans of leaving. I say the best thing we can do is lay low until we have more heroes on our side."

Machoke gritted his teeth and was about to protest when Gardevoir gasped, "That's right! Machoke, the others are on their way! They can help us!" the man groaning, "But I don't wanna do that to them! They're coming here for a good time! If we stop Deoxys and get our daughter back right now, then we can still have the party and they won't have to fight these guys!"

The woman took a deep breath and sighed, "But you know as well as I do that even if you were at full strength, we alone couldn't possibly take them. We need the whole team, Machoke," the man looking deep into her eyes with uncertainty.

As much as it pained him to admit it, she had a point. He had lost easily to Deoxys, and one could only imagine how much worse it could have been if the others had helped him. And while Gardevoir was a lot stronger than she looked, the two of them combined would not be enough. And to top it all off, there was certainly no way Beedrill and Butterfree were in good enough health to assist them.

With that in mind, the man breathed in and out before sighing, "Alright, we'll wait for the others to arrive. But if we're gonna get them involved, we may as well call up Aipom and Hawlucha as well, don't you think?" Gardevoir nodding with a big smile on her face, Butterfree grumbling, "You know, if we'd gone to their house first instead of challenging Deoxys, we'd be in good enough condition to join them," Beedrill shushing her.

Two hours later, Machoke's friends had finally arrived at the airport. However, while they had every intention of heading to Machoke and Gardevoir's house as soon as possible, it was no longer for the same reason. Naturally, the green woman had sent them all a text informing them of what was going on, telling them all to assemble at the household for a strategy meeting.

And of course, Hawlucha and Aipom had also received the same text seeing as they lived in Tokyo and could get there right away. When Gardevoir had said she wanted the whole team, she meant it.

Meanwhile, the villains had finished constructing Deoxys' tower as he gazed upon it, saying, "Well, I'm impressed. Though how's the interior?" stepping foot inside and looking around in wonder, adding, "Wow, this is actually better than the first tower I built here. Very, very impressive."

He then held up Machop and asked, "You see this? This is your new home. You like it?" the baby squealing with delight and clapping her hands. It seemed as if she had already forgotten who her real parents were.

After another hour had passed, Beedrill and Butterfree were fast asleep in the living room, though Machoke and Gardevoir were unable to get back to sleep. Right now, they were looking at the door, wondering when the others would arrive. Both just wanted to go out and save their daughter as soon as possible.

When the doorbell rang, both went wide-eyed and bolted toward the door. They immediately threw it open and smiled wide when sure enough, all but Aipom and Hawlucha were there.

Gardevoir squealed with excitement and immediately raced toward Gallade, holding him in a tight embrace as his eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. He laughed and patted her on the back, sighing, "I swear, your hugs will never stop being deadly," Blaziken pounding Machoke's fist and saying, "I wish circumstances were better, but it's nice to see you again."

Scyther walked over to the man and patted him on the back, stating, "Don't you worry about a thing, Machoke. We'll help you get your daughter back," as Reika nodded and added, "Damn straight. We came to celebrate her birth and we're gonna do that."

But after she pounded her fist against her palm, Scyther laughed nervously and uttered, "I'd prefer it if you just provided moral support," the human woman uttering, "Oh, right, I don't have powers like you guys."

Beedrill and Butterfree finally woke up, both of them happy to see the others. And of course, Machoke smiled wide when he noticed Lucario, the dog approaching him and saying, "You haven't changed a bit," the reptilian man replying, "I can say the same about you."

However, the moment was soon broken up when a certain monkey knocked on the door with her tail hand despite it still being open. Machoke's eyes lit up when he gazed upon his former trainer, a big grin forming on his face as he ran over to her and lifted her up, giving her the biggest hug. After all, despite the fact that Aipom was now twenty, she was only half the man's height.

Aipom smiled softly and embraced him, wrapping her tail around him and saying, "Sorry I don't visit more often, Machoke."

"I take it Takashi's not coming?" Machoke enquired as Aipom nodded and replied, "Yeah, I figured it would be better if he didn't get involved with a matter like this. He's not really the fighting type, you know?"

Blaziken grinned and stated, "It's so nice to have the team back together, ain't it?" before Gallade nodded and added, "And who knows? Maybe I'll actually be able to help this time," laughing nervously and uttering, "Yeah, maybe they'll give me a mere lackey to show off my mad skills on," lowering his head only for Hitmonchan to kiss him on the cheek and raise his spirits.

And so, Beedrill and Butterfree both explained everything they knew about the situation. They told the group where specifically the tower was, how many villains there were and just how powerful this threat was. However, they also remembered to add that they themselves were in no condition to help out, though this was not too alarming to the group. After all, there were seven villains and by the time Hawlucha finally showed up, there would be nine heroes capable of fighting, and that would allow them to just barely outnumber the villains.

"Well, I'm ready to bust some heads when you are," Blaziken quipped with a smirk, Lucario folding his arms and adding, "Indeed. I won't allow this child to walk down the same path I almost did."

The dog looked back to when he was fourteen. He had left his home one day without any warning or a letter to his parents. The reason for this was to join the dark side as he believed he did not have what it took to be a hero like his father. He had even killed an innocent human just for a sick thrill. The last thing he wanted was for Machop to end up like that.

And of course, Hitmonchan grinned and exclaimed, "Let's march right up to that Deoxys bastard and punch him in the face!" Gallade shouting, "Hell yeah!"

Scyther nodded as Reika gave her a look of encouragement. She then kissed her compassionately and said, "Do your best out there, darling," before the insect blushed bright, smirked and replied, "You know I will."

Aipom, all the while, turned to Machoke and asked, "Are you sure you want me to come along?" Machoke nodding and remarking, "As if I'd leave my number one trainer behind. Besides, you were a total badass in the tag tournament," the monkey beaming bright.

She remembered that day during a big event known as the Ultimate World Team Tournament. Machoke did not have a partner for the semi-finals, so Aipom ultimately decided she should step in and fill that role. And after undergoing some difficult training from three wise monkeys, she knew she would make for the perfect ally. And while she was hospitalized for the final round, she and Machoke had ultimately won the match together.

Gardevoir was just beyond happy to have all these familiar faces together again. Sure, it was not for the fun time they had initially planned, but they still seemed to have the same camaraderie from way back when. Just the fact that they were all ready to put their lives on the line one last time was inspiring in a strange way.

Suddenly, they all went silent when Hawlucha finally arrived, opening the door and exclaiming, "Lo siento! I only just saw your text a while ago!" the others giving the parrot a smile, just glad to see that he would indeed join them in this battle after all.

And with all said and done, the heroes were on their way to Deoxys' tower while the alien stood on the top floor. He looked out the window upon the city down below and said, "Soon, all of these people will bow to me, their new king."


	4. Chapter 4

After a while, Machoke and the others arrived at Deoxys' tower and stood in front of it, the reptilian man glaring. He just wanted to race right in there and sock Deoxys in the face, but he knew he could not afford to be rash. After all, he had almost died when they first fought.

Gardevoir rested a hand on his shoulder and smiled softly, nodding her head while the others gave him their own looks of encouragement. Blaziken held a thumb up, Gallade grinned and Lucario simply nodded his head. He knew there was no way Machoke would lose a second time.

"Come on, Senor Machoke," Hawlucha said with a grin, resting a hand on the man's shoulder, "Your hija is waiting."

Machoke took a deep breath and nodded with a serious look in his eyes. And while the group approached the entrance, Rotom noticed this and floated up to the top floor, using his electric hand to tap on the window. That was just enough to get Deoxys' attention.

Thus the alien opened the window and asked, "What is it, Rotom?" the lightning rod looking nervous as he uttered, "Well, sir, Machoke's friends are already here."

"How strange," Deoxys replied with his eyes narrowed, "I was hoping to have a news crew come here and get their attention first, and yet somehow, they already knew I was here. This gives us very little time to prepare ourselves."

"Well, it's not just that," Rotom uttered, "You see, sir, Machoke is also with them," the alien's eyes wide with horror as he turned and spat, "What!? Are you bullshitting me right now!?"

Sure enough, when the alien peered out the window, he squinted his eyes and saw it clear as day. Machoke was certainly among the nine heroes making their way toward the entrance. As such, he fumed and turned to Rotom, barking, "Alright, you and Medicham have your chance to get your revenge! I already beat him once, so I no longer have anything to prove!"

The lightning rod replaced his nervousness with a grin before he gave an army salute and floated out of the window to relocate to another floor. There was no way Medicham would challenge the reptilian man first. After all, Rotom was the first villain to fall to his might on Earth, so as far as he saw it, he deserved it more.

Due to his speed when in his regular form, he managed to pass right through the door immediately after Machoke opened it. The man blinked in confusion when he floated a small distance from him and turned with a psychotic grin on his face.

"Well, well, well, we meet again," the lightning rod said in an ominous tone, Machoke staring in stunned silence. Gardevoir squeaked in panic, Aipom and Gallade gulping while Blaziken and Lucario frowned.

However, Machoke's fear soon became confidence as he folded his arms and smirked, saying, "Don't worry, guys. It's Rotom. This guy's a joke," the lightning rod's eyes twitching.

"HEY, CAN IT!" he snapped as the heroes all looked at him, "I've been waiting for this moment ever since that awful day! That day when you bested me was the worst experience of my life! No matter what I did, you kept finding various ways around my tactics, but not this time! This time, I shall come out on top!"

"Wow, you're not quite as composed as you used to be," Lucario quipped with his arms folded, "I think you might need to relax a little," Rotom glaring at him and growling, "Don't even get me started on you, you filthy traitor! We used to be teammates, dammit!"

The dog certainly remembered that. Back when he was on the side of evil, Rotom and an orange lizard named Scrafty were his allies. But after both of his allies lost to Machoke and Gardevoir respectively, he ultimately decided the dark side was not right for him and became neutral. It was not until he stopped two bank robbers along with a blue lobster named Clauncher that he finally decided to become a hero.

"You know," the dog sighed, "Scrafty at least learned his lesson and returned to the side of good after his defeat. Why couldn't you do the same?" the lightning rod barking, "Easy, because I know what I want out of life, unlike you!"

Machoke blinked and uttered, "Um, not to be rude or anything, but I thought this was about getting vengeance on me," only for Rotom to retort, "You know what!? You can lose to Deoxys again for all I care! Lucario's really starting to piss me off!"

"Oh, you wanna go, do you?" the dog remarked, cracking his knuckles only for Aipom to step forward and grunt, "No, you guys should save your strength for more worthy opponents."

Rotom felt even more offended by these very words while the monkey continued, "You know as well as I do that Deoxys is far worse, plus Beedrill mentioned that Onix was among them. I'm sure someone like that would be much more worth the time and effort."

"What are you saying?" Gallade enquired before Aipom grinned and stated, "I'm saying I'll take this guy."

Rotom was about to protest this, but then he remembered something else from his match with Machoke. Part of the reason the man had won back then was because despite an agreement forbidding her from doing so, Aipom gave him one piece of advice that ultimately motivated him to keep fighting. With that in mind, a smirk formed on his face while the others stared at him.

"Yes," Rotom said in a sinister tone, "As satisfying as vengeance on either of these two would be, you're the reason Machoke even has his reputation in the first place. Very well. You can all go and fall to my allies. Aipom will make the perfect victim for me."

Gardevoir bit her lower lip while Blaziken asked, "Are you absolutely sure about this?" Machoke adding, "Yeah. If you're fighting him, who's gonna give me-?"

"You don't need my advice," Aipom giggled while holding up a finger with her tail hand, "You haven't needed my advice for a long time. You're the world champion. Most of your victories were brought about by tactics I never would have come up with. And besides, you should be the one to face the one who took your daughter."

The man nodded and held a thumb up before he and the others raced off toward a nearby staircase, Rotom watching them leave with a shrug. He then raced toward Aipom while a jolt of electricity flowed through his fake body.

But when he sent a jab toward Aipom, she simply leapt to the side and balled her tail hand into a fist, swinging it hard into his cheek and sending him careening into the wall. She then grinned and quipped, "Don't think I forgot the biggest weakness of this form! While the fake body is invincible, your real body is weak and vulnerable!"

Rotom snickered wickedly and remarked, "Oh, I was expecting that. I simply wanted to see if you were worth using my other forms on. But they're not as simple and easy to exploit as they were before," the lightning rod morphing into a lawn mower, "I've made some modifications to myself to make me even deadlier," Aipom staring in horror as not only did he have two green rake-like arms coming from under him but two more with buzz saws for hands.

Meanwhile, Machoke and the others were now on the second floor where a wrestling ring five times the width of a normal one and made entirely out of stone, including the ropes, had been set up. Onix was currently standing in it when he spotted the heroes, saying, "I wasn't expecting you guys yet."

He did not even seem to notice Machoke among them when he gazed upon Blaziken. A great anger built up inside of him as he remembered his match with her in Osaka. He had come so close to defeating her only for her to overpower him and knock him out with an uppercut. She had even managed to leave a permanent chip on his horn.

"So it's true," the chicken grunted, "Deoxys did break you out," the rock snake pointing at her and barking, "Yeah, he did, and I want revenge on you!"

Hawlucha blinked and uttered, "What did you do to make him so mad?" Blaziken sighing, "Same thing Machoke did to Rotom, no big deal," but when she was ready to face him, she noticed the snake turn his attention to Lucario.

"Something the matter?" the dog enquired before the snake grumbled, "I know you. You're that traitor, Lucario!"

The dog let out a sigh and groaned, "Weren't you about to get your revenge on Blaziken?" only for Onix to stroke his chin and say, "As much as I've wanted that, taking you down would earn me a far better reputation. Yeah, I'm sure of it!" pointing at him and barking, "I want you, Lucario!"

Machoke blinked and uttered, "Is he for real?" Gardevoir and Gallade equally confused. Blaziken, all the while, looked strangely disappointed, as if she had wanted to fight him.

Scyther, on the other hand, seemed to see an upside to this as she said, "This might be for the best," Hitmonchan remarking, "How?" before the insect explained, "You heard Aipom earlier. Someone like Onix here would be a much better opponent for Lucario to take on."

"She's right," Lucario stated before leaping into the ring, "You've already beaten him once, Blaziken. I'd like a turn," a light smile on his face as Machoke stared in confusion. Blaziken bit the lower half of her beak before sighing and ultimately accepting this. Perhaps this was the best course of action.

"I get the next opponent!" Hitmonchan exclaimed, and thus the group headed off toward another staircase while Lucario struck a fighting pose and Onix let out a deafening roar.

He immediately lunged toward the dog with his mouth open only for Lucario to dodge to the side. Seeing an opening, he formed a blue aura around his paw and shouted, "FORCE PALM!" ramming said part into Onix's cheek.

The snake winced and swung his tail at Lucario. The dog simply leapt over it and rammed his feet hard into it, dealing a surprising amount of pain. So far, things were looking really good for him.

The others soon reached the third floor where Medicham was waiting in a meditative state. When she heard them enter, she opened one of her eyes and said, "So you're here," both eyes wide open when she spotted Machoke among them.

"Oh my god, it's you!" Machoke spat, pointing at Medicham, Gardevoir equally shocked as the grey woman smiled and said, "Seems Deoxys did not rob me of my chance to exact my revenge. But yes, it is I."

Machoke remembered it well. Medicham was the first opponent to ever best him in combat. However, he managed to defeat her in a rematch when he found out her style was not as deadly as it first seemed.

But before either one could challenge the other, Scyther stepped forward and said, "You guys should go on ahead. I'll take this one," only for Hitmonchan to retort, "Not fair! I wanted to challenge her!"

Medicham noticed Hitmonchan and smirked before remarking, "Oh, it's you, the weakling who turned against the dark side after my defeat. As if I'd face someone as unworthy as you in combat," the boxer fuming and clenching her fists, "I also heard you married that weakling, Gallade."

"Hey, I'm standing right here!" Gallade retorted, wanting to fight her himself only to Medicham to state, "Oh no. Scyther seems more like the right opponent for me. You see, Machoke, ever since I lost to you, I have been improving my craft. I admit, it was ineffective before, but now I know it's strong enough to knock down foes instead of just paralysing them, and what better way to prove it than by testing it on someone with actual skill?"

Scyther frowned and turned to Hitmonchan, sighing, "I know you want to take a crack at her, but she's challenged me."

The boxer bit her lower lip and turned to the others, saying, "You all go ahead. I'll stay here in case she's serious about her improvements."

"Are you sure about that?" Gallade enquired only for the boxer to nod with a light smile, thus the green man nodded and gave her a compassionate kiss. Both held it for a solid ten seconds before releasing it, the other heroes heading toward the nearest staircase.

Scyther took a deep breath and said, "You didn't need to do that," only for Hitmonchan to sigh, "Look, when you defeat this bitch, I wanna be here to witness it," a grin on her face as Medicham narrowed her eyelids and remarked, "We shall see about that."

The remaining five heroes sprinted upstairs to the forth floor while Gallade gulped, "I really hope those two will be okay. I would have preferred it if Hitmonchan stayed by my side.

Blaziken patted the green and white man on the shoulder and smiled while Gardevoir squeaked, "I'm pretty sure she wouldn't want you worrying about her."

When the group reached the top of the stairs, it appeared the room was empty. However, that quickly changed when Genesect leapt from the ceiling and landed before the group, a wicked grin on her face as she said, "I'm surprised. I thought I'd have to wait longer for someone to fight."

Machoke panicked and spat, "Oh my god, I just noticed how creepy she is!" the bug looking upon him and stating, "So you survived after all. Shame Rotom and Medicham were unable to get their revenge on you."

Just as the man was prepared for a challenge, he was surprised when Genesect shrugged and added, "Oh well, after seeing you lose so easily to the master, I'm not quite as interested in you. You can go ahead. I'd rather face one of your friends."

The man was rather surprised to hear this while the bug looked over the others and pointed at Gallade, adding, "In fact, I think I'll take you on!" Gallade's eyes wide with shock as he uttered, "Me?"

"Yeah, him?" Blaziken remarked as Genesect nodded and explained, "Yes. I've heard of your reputation, Gallade, how you were considered this great student on Hero Planet and yet since then, you've only proven yourself to be the weak link of Tokyo's team. That's far too intriguing to pass up."

The others looked at Gallade with concern until he frowned and grunted, "Well, don't underestimate me!" holding up his arms like actual blades, "I'll slice you into ribbons!"

The others really hoped he could do this, especially Gardevoir who patted him on the shoulder. Gallade turned and saw how concerned she was, but he ultimately gave her a reassuring smile and a nod. He was certain that he could do this, even if what Genesect said about his reputation was true.

And so the remaining four headed toward yet another staircase while Genesect raced toward Gallade with her claws at the ready. The boy managed to block them with his arm blades, thinking, 'She may look scary, but I will come out on top!'

When the others reached the fifth floor, they all noticed a rectangular tower sitting right in the middle of the room. However, Blaziken immediately noticed arms and legs and said, "Don't look now, but I think this might be our next villain."

Sure enough, she was right when a portion of the tower opened up to reveal Stakataka's blue eye. Machoke blinked and uttered, "Okay, that's a little creepy," before Hawlucha stepped forward and said, "Worry not, mi amigos. This looks like the perfect opponent for me!" flexing his muscles.

Gardevoir nodded with a sweet smile and said, "Do your best," Stakataka frowning as Blaziken sighed, "You know what? I'm kinda with Hitmonchan right now. I want the next villain."

While the group headed toward the exit, Stakataka refused to allow Hawlucha to distract him and shifted in front of them to stop them in their tracks. However, the parrot would not allow this, thus he leapt toward the tower and spread out his arms, using his feathers to speed up his flight toward him and shouting, "FLYING PRESS!"

Seeing this, Stakataka folded his arms in front of his face and managed to block Hawlucha's attack. He then threw his arms out and sent him flying backward. But he was not yet finished, thus he leapt into the air and tucked his arms and legs in, allowing his body to fall on top of the parrot, crushing him underneath.

The others stopped running toward the staircase and turned toward the tower, Machoke shouting, "HAWLUCHA!" Stakataka stood up after ten seconds to reveal that this one hit had managed to knock Hawlucha unconscious, the parrot now bleeding all over while his arms and legs twitched slightly.

"Oh shit," Machoke uttered, trembling while Stakataka turned toward him and the others and marched toward them. However, Blaziken refused to let this go, thus she leapt toward the tower with one foot out, setting it aflame.

Stakataka once again folded his arms, successfully blocking the kick only for Blaziken to smirk and raise her other leg. She then lit that foot on fire and rammed it into the area just below the tower's eye, shouting, "BLAZE KICK JUNIOR!"

Thus Stakataka backed up, rather shocked that the chicken managed to deal that much harm to him. Blaziken smirked and turned to the others, saying, "Don't just stand there. You got a daughter to save, right?"

Machoke smiled and nodded before he and Gardevoir turned toward the stairs and started up them. The green woman breathed a sigh of relief and said, "I just know Blaziken's gonna kick his ass," Machoke grinning with confidence.

And so the couple made it to the sixth floor where Blacephalon was currently in the middle of performing an odd dance routine. He then turned when he heard footsteps and asked, "Well, well, well, who do we have-?" staring blankly at the two standing before him.

"So, it's true," the colourful man said, placing the back of his hand against his forehead, "Deoxys did not manage to kill you after all, Machoke. And to make matters even more awkward, you and your darling wife have managed to make it this far."

"You're damn right we have!" Machoke retorted, "Now if you don't mind, I'd like Machop back!" before Blacephalon sighed, "Oh, you can go ahead. I'm sure Deoxys would love to finish what he started, anyway. Besides, I'm much more interested in what the missus is capable of."

Machoke turned to Gardevoir with slight concern, but when he saw her give him a light smile, he knew there was no way she would fall. As such, the man nodded his head and kissed her on the cheek, saying, "Don't worry, honey. We'll have Machop back in our arms before you know it."

"I know you will," the green woman replied with a nod, and thus the man headed upstairs to finally face Deoxys. While he may have lost the first time, there was no way he would fall, especially now that he knew how the alien fought.


	5. Chapter 5

While Machoke made his way up a much longer flight of stairs than the ones before, Aipom was currently dodging Rotom's new energy saws. The mower smirked and said, "Machoke was able to get around this form easily, but I doubt you'll be able to do the same."

Aipom continued to leap away each time the buzz saws came for her, thinking, 'As long as I pay attention, I can keep this up,' only for Rotom's right rake to swipe outward and pin her to the floor. This alone caused her quite a bit of pain, but she knew the incoming buzz saws would be far worse.

As such, the monkey grunted, "Hopefully, this tactic will work for this situation as well!" thus she performed an escape tactic that Machoke himself had used to get out of a hold she trapped him in once during training. She spun her body around, resulting in a few cuts forming on her body but ultimately allowing her to free herself from under the rake.

"WHAT!?" Rotom spat while his saw lodged itself into the floor. Aipom righted herself up and grinned with pride, squeaking, "I can't believe I pulled that off, and only with a few scratches!" before flipping vertically toward the mower and shouting, "TAIL HAMMER!"

Rotom groaned in pain when Aipom balled her tail hand into a fist and rammed it into his face. However, he refused to let this get him down and morphed into a washing machine. This form had two massive clothes pins and a huge crab claw, Aipom now scared as she remembered how powerful this form had been before.

As such, she tried her best to avoid getting caught only for Rotom to grab her by the tail and open up his lid, stuffing her into it and starting up the wash cycle. The monkey held her breath and braced herself when she started to spin, her body hitting the sides and taking in damage. But when Rotom opened up his lid to send her flying, she used her tail hand to cling to the rim around it and swung herself upward, planting her feet hard into his face.

Rotom fumed and released steam before he took on the form of a fan, only he was larger than he originally was when he fought Machoke. However, Aipom felt more than prepared, thus when Rotom unleashed a powerful wind currently, the monkey simply allowed her to get swept up in it. As she predicted, a twister formed around her and launched her into the air, but unlike when Machoke was caught in this, she managed to maintain balance. So when Rotom flew up to her level to grab her, she simply spun herself around and rammed her fist into him, causing him to spin in midair.

"STOP DOING THAT!" he spat before taking on the form of an oven with giant red oven mitts and a matching spatula. He proceeded to smack a spellbound Aipom with the spatula and grabbed her so he could stuff her into his body.

However, Aipom refused to allow him to cook her. As such, she once again spun like Machoke to free herself. She then flipped away from Rotom and landed perfectly against the floor while his back hit the surface hard.

"Alright, you're clearly a lot better than I thought you'd be," Rotom growled while he rose back up, "But I still have one last form, and I made sure this would be far more useful than it was last time," taking on the form of a fridge with purple arms shaped like ice picks.

Aipom frowned and watched as he opened up his doors, revealing a large number of icicles all along the walls and roof. He then smirked and said, "And unlike before, these ones regenerate instantly," using the ice picks to cut them off and send them toward Aipom like spiky baseballs.

"FREEZER BURN BLIZZARD!" he exclaimed as Aipom gasped and took in thirteen of them to her front side. A chill went down her spine while blood dripped from the wounds.

'He wasn't kidding,' she thought, 'When he fought Machoke, this was his least useful form. Now it's become his most deadly, but I can still work around this. I won't let all that training I did go to waste.'

Thus when more icicles flew toward her, she leapt into the air and positioned her tail hand against the floor. She lowered and coiled it like a spring and squeaked, "MONKEY POGO STICK!" launching herself just high enough to evade every single icicle.

"WHAT!?" Rotom spat, his eyes wide with terror while Aipom spun vertically toward him with her tail balled up into a fist. Before the fridge could even respond, the monkey rammed her fist into his skull and spat, "TAIL HAMMER!"

Sparks flew from the fridge while he morphed back into a lightning rod and collapsed hard against the floor. When he closed his eyes, it was clear he had been defeated, thus Aipom breathed a sigh of relief and slumped down. She then looked up at the ceiling with a big smile and thought, 'I wish the others could have seen that.'

Unfortunately, it seemed as if after a very good start, things had taken a dark turn for Lucario. Onix was currently rolling around the ring while leaning forward and clutching onto the tip of his tail, forming a wheel shape. Lucario tried to examine his movements while he shouted, "ROCKIN ROLLER!" ramming himself hard into the dog and sending him careening into the stone ropes.

This only caused him more pain as he coughed up blood, the snake rolling back toward him and shouting, "NOT SO TOUGH NOW, ARE YOU!?"

However, Lucario saw something he could do, thus he leapt to the side just in time for Onix to crack open the ropes behind him. He continued to roll out of the ring and straight into the wall, thus he was now wide open for Lucario to leap toward him with an aura surrounding both of his paws.

Onix refused to allow this, thus he leapt toward the dog, raised his tail and rammed it right into his chest. But while this did cause Lucario to cough up more blood, he ignored the pain and wrapped his arms and legs around Onix. To make things even better, he also managed to apply enough force to swing the snake downward so his skull was facing the floor, a dark aura surrounding the dog.

"HOW THE HELL DID YOU PULL THAT OFF!?" Onix spat, Lucario remarking, "I don't know. I'm still not completely sure what this power is or where it came from, but I've had it since the Hero Olympics."

He then rammed Onix's skull into the surface and shouted, "CANINE HUG SLAM!" small portions of his horn falling off while he closed his eyes. The dog then released his hold and leapt away while Onix's entire body fell backward and put a large dent in the wall.

"That guy was all talk," Lucario sighed, folding his arms, "A waste of time if you ask me."

He then sat down on the side of the ring where the ropes had been broken and thought, 'I just know Machoke is probably fighting Deoxys right now. I just hope he really does have what it takes to win.'

All the while, things seemed to look promising for Scyther when she held Medicham's back against her shoulder and leapt into the air. She then leaned backward and aimed her skull toward the floor, shouting, "FLYING HAMMER!"

Hitmonchan watched in awe and thought, 'Medicham didn't stand a chance,' only for the grey woman to lower her hands and point her fingers toward the surface. And seconds before they hit, she exclaimed, "ACUPRESSURE!" releasing extreme energy from her fingers that cushioned the blow significantly.

Scyther gasped before Medicham wrapped her legs around her and flipped herself one hundred and eighty degrees, ramming the insect's back into the floor. She then distanced herself slightly from Scyther as Hitmonchan gasped, "When could you pull off a move like that?"

"As I said, I've been improving my technique," Medicham explained while Scyther rose to her feet, "I'm no longer like I was before. I can actually knock out my opponents now."

"Good moves or not, you're still no match for me," Scyther retorted before blades jutted out of her arms, reaching all the way from her wrists to her armpits. She then raced toward the grey woman and shouted, "ARM SCHWERT!" only for Medicham to leap back and somersault away from her just in time to avoid the incoming strike.

Scyther stared wide-eyed while Medicham pushed herself off the ground and planted her foot hard into her chest. She kept her foot right there, the insect's eyes and mouth wide with shock when she leaned forward and took hold of her hands, forcing her arms up while she forced the insect's back to bend.

Hitmonchan stared in horror while Scyther could not believe how difficult this was to escape from. And it only got worse when Medicham shouted, "TURNOVER SLAM!" applying enough pressure to force Scyther to fall backward, her skull hitting the floor hard.

Scyther coughed up blood as Medicham released her hold on her, allowing her to collapse. There was no doubt about it. The insect had been defeated, and surprisingly easily at that.

"As I said, I'm no longer the weakling I was before," Medicham grunted, "I was told as a child that my family was never meant to fight, but I've finally proven my father wrong. And you're next, traitor!" pointing angrily at Hitmonchan.

The boxer gritted her teeth and growled, "Bring it, bitch!" racing toward her and sending a barrage of rapid punches toward her.

Medicham simply used her fingers to block the incoming blows, a light smile on her face as she said, "Look at this. Now my Acupressure is so strong that I can match blows with your boxing gloves."

Hitmonchan had to admit that this was alarming, but after the grey woman had used her for her own evil purposes back in the day, there was no way she would let up. As far as she saw it, Medicham made a mistake when she accepted Deoxys' offer and left her cell.

After a while, though, Medicham saw an opening and rammed a finger into the boxer's midsection. This caused Hitmonchan to cough up blood and fall to her knees, the woman smirking and saying, "I see you took in extreme pain there once. That spot is weaker than every other part of your body," sending more finger punches into her.

While Hitmonchan continued to take in pain with a look of both anger and helplessness in her eyes, Medicham sighed, "I don't see why you're so mad at me. You and your siblings chose to join me of your own accord. You developed a grudge against the world for an incredibly shallow reason."

Hitmonchan gasped before taking another finger punch to her gut, the grey woman adding, "Seriously, breaking your vow to serve the side of good all because you were forced to wait a month before entering Hero School? You have no right to call me a bitch! At least I've had my priorities straight from the get-go!"

But just as she was ready to finish off Hitmonchan for good, the boxer gritted her teeth and finally managed to ignore the pain coursing through her. She then lifted up her right hand, used her glove to block the incoming finger and grunted, "You're absolutely right. Our reason for joining the dark side and turning against our little brother was stupid. There is absolutely nothing I can say that can possibly justify our actions."

She then rose to her feet and held her left arm back, expanding the size of her fist so it was twice the size of her head while barking, "But even so, we learned our lesson in the end and now we fight to protect the world from people like you!"

She then rammed her fist into a spellbound Medicham's face, barking, "MACH PUNCH!" the grey woman's face caving in before she soared backward into the wall. A crack formed behind her while she slid down, her head hanging to the side and her tongue sticking out.

Hitmonchan breathed heavily and closed her eyes, fell to her knees once more and thought, 'I did it, and I just know Gallade's already beaten his opponent.'

Unfortunately, this was not the case. While the others had struggled quite a bit, so far, Gallade had it the absolute worst. Genesect was by far the toughest opponent he had ever face, and he was already covered in bruises when he took in the same beam that knocked out Butterfree.

While the man lay against the wall, looking limp and lifeless, Genesect sighed, "You know, I don't know what I was expecting. Somehow I thought you'd make for a more interesting opponent, like all those losses over the past were intentional so you could one day surprise the world with an amazing comeback. I guess that is too unrealistic, isn't it?"

Gallade lay against the wall and thought, 'No,' before twitching all over and pushing himself away from the wall. Genesect stared in stunned silence before smirking and saying, "Guess I can still have a little fun after all."

The bug raced around the area only for Gallade to leap at her from the side and send a roundhouse into her waist. However, Genesect ignored the pain and retaliated with a rolling sobat, sending the green man careening into the same wall he had hit earlier.

She then started to charge up her cannon again while she sighed, "It's a shame to end this, but you're starting to really bore me right now."

Gallade tried his hardest to keep his eyes open and thought, 'I can't believe this! When I got my first victory on Earth, it was the greatest feeling ever.'

He remembered back when Hitmonchan used to serve the side of evil. She and Gallade fought each other in Sapporo, and while it was tough, in the end, the man had come out on top.

'That day, I truly felt like I could protect Tokyo with my friends, that I was finally a worthy addition to the team,' his mind added, 'But even after all of my progress, I'm still nothing more than a joke. Hell, I was the only one of Tokyo's heroes to lose to my opponent in the Reverse World. What good am I?'

But just as Genesect was ready to fire her beam a second time, Gallade's eyes widened as he remembered all the people who supported and believed in him. While they had teased him in the past, he knew his friends still had faith in him. His parents always gave him words of encouragement whenever he had a chance to talk to them and, most of all, both Hitmonchan and Gardevoir would be truly devastated if he died today.

With that in mind, he frowned while Genesect exclaimed, "BUG BLASTER!" unleashing her beam toward Gallade, a huge explosion forming while a crater was left in the wall.

"He was even more pathetic than that butterfly," Genesect sighed only for the smoke to clear and reveal that Gallade was no longer there. The bug's eyes widened with terror when she felt a pair of arms latch onto her shoulders from behind.

"But how!?" Genesect cried, Gallade grinning and retorting, "I'm not a loser, and I'm gonna prove it!"

He then lifted up the bug and leaned backward, planting the back of her head into the floor. He then released his hold and leapt into the air, planting his feet into Genesect's gut, causing her to cough up green blood.

The bug immediately rolled backward and positioned herself upright. She breathed heavily and wiped the blood off of her mouth, staring at it with a horrified expression on her face. Sure, she had wanted a challenge, but she did not expect Gallade of all heroes to be able to pull this off with only a few hits.

"I am sick and tired of being Tokyo's punching bag!" he grunted before racing toward Genesect with his arms spread out, "Today, I finally prove my worth!"

Genesect gritted her teeth and sent another beam toward Gallade only for him to jump over it. He then descended toward the bug and crossed his arms, shouting, "PSYCHO CUT!" And when he was close enough, he spread his arms out in an X formation and put a big gash on Genesect's chest.

The bug closed her eyes and fell hard on her back while Gallade breathed heavily. He stared silently at his handiwork before slowly inching his foot toward the bug, lightly tapping her with the tip. And when Genesect did not even budge, he knew he had won, thus he smiled lightly and allowed himself to fall backwards with his arms spread out, laughing triumphantly.

All the while, Blaziken currently had it rough as she took in a hard punch to the face from Stakataka. However, she managed to ignore the pain and took hold of his fist. She then propelled herself off of the floor and wrapped her legs around his arm, twisting it while the tower tried his hardest not to show how much this hurt.

"You didn't think I'd be easy pickings, did you?" she asked with a smirk, "I already fought a villain made entirely out of rocks once, and he was much worse than you."

However, Stakataka ignored all of this and lifted up his free arm. He then swung it toward Blaziken like a whip and smacked her hard in the face, drawing blood from her beak and causing her to release her hold. He then rose his foot and sent it hard into her gut, leaping into the air and tucking his arms and legs in. Blaziken attempted to crawl away only for her lower body to take in the blow.

The chicken cried out in agonizing pain, gritting her teeth angrily and trying to pry herself out from under Stakataka. While she had enough energy to at least try to lift the tower off of her, there was just one problem. Her family was naturally unable to pull off advanced slam techniques without wasting a lot of energy, hence why they preferred to stick to more simple means.

However, after a few seconds, the chicken took a deep breath and thought, 'Alright, I know I'm taking a huge risk here, but right now, it's either this or accept defeat, and lord knows I can't afford to do the latter."

With that in mind, Blaziken tilted her upper body upward. Sure, it caused her quite a bit of strain, but she managed to ignore this and wrapped her arms around Stakataka's waist. The tower's eye widened with terror when he felt this, and it only got worse for him when the chicken manage to just barely lift him up, rising to her feet and panting heavily.

"This ain't a signature move or anything, but it should be enough to defeat you," the chicken grunted before leaning backward and slamming Stakataka back into the floor, causing the entire area to vibrate.

But while Blaziken breathed heavily while looking down at her opponent, panic filled her veins when Stakataka regained consciousness and pushed himself back up. However, there was no way the chicken would allow her efforts to be wasted, thus she used her last ounce of strength to leap up over him and mount herself onto his back.

Stakataka was truly terrified now when Blaziken lit her feet on fire and shouted, "BLAZE KICK!" ramming them both into his back and causing him to fall forward, his face crashing down on the floor.

Blaziken wiped sweat off of her forehead and sat down on the floor. She then rested her hands against the surface and sighed, "Whew, that was close. For a second there, I actually thought I'd lost this one."

She then smiled and felt confident the others were performing just as well, and so far, on the sixth floor, Gardevoir seemed to be on par with Blacephalon. She and the colourful man both attempted to slap one-another only for their arms to collide.

When Blacephalon sent a palm punch toward Gardevoir, she gracefully dodged to the side and attempted to kick him only for him to do the same. He then struck a pose and exclaimed, "My, my, aren't you an incredible opponent!? I didn't think anyone was as graceful in battle as I!"

"Um, thank you," Gardevoir replied with a light blush only for Blacephalon to sigh, "Still, your skills are far too basic," popping his head off of his frills, "I have something that will truly blow your mind, both figuratively and perhaps literally."

Gardevoir stared in confusion when he hurled the sphere toward her, shouting, "MIND BLOWN!" as it struck her hard in the face, the dots flying out to form a fireworks effect.

This caused the woman to cough up blood and fall on her back while Blacephalon's head returned to its rightful place. He then took a bow and said, "Thank you for being such an amazing partner. It's a shame there's no audience, though."

"Yes, it is," Gardevoir uttered while slowly pushing herself back to her feet, the colourful man gasping at the sight of this, "Because if there were people here, they could watch me beat you."

Blacephalon's shock soon became intrigue, thus he nodded and said, "Well, then, I guess I have no choice but to pull out all the stops," before lifting up his right leg and twirling toward Gardevoir like a ballerina.

However, the woman was ready this time, thus she leapt toward him with her arm out and shouted, "MOON HOOK!" aiming for the area just below his head.

However, Blacephalon saw this coming and lifted up his head, tossing it into the air just in time for Gardevoir to miss. A look of shock took over while he wrapped his arms around her and leapt sideways, planting her skull into the floor.

To make matters worse, when Blacephalon's head descended, it struck Gardevoir hard in the gut before she could even attempt to rise to her feet, the dots forming the same firework explosion. Thus the woman coughed up more blood, panting while Blacephalon picked up his head and put it back on.

"It's such a pity to end this match so soon," he cooed, "I was having so much fun, but alas, all good things must come to an end."

With that, he leapt into the air and aimed his foot toward Gardevoir's chest, spinning while shouting, "BALLET STOMP!"

However, Gardevoir remembered what was at stake and focused hard. And sure enough, just when Blacephalon closed in on her, she threw her arms upward and took hold of his ankle. The colourful man looked down in shock when he noticed the woman had just barely managed to stop his descent.

It was then he noticed a violet aura around her hands as she rose to her feet and grunted, "Guess no one told you about the Beaulieu family power! Granted, I can only use it for three minutes, but that's more than enough time!" before swinging the man around and hurling him high into the air.

She then leapt toward him and lifted her arms up, cupping her hands and feet together and bending her back to form a half-moon shape. She then spun like a disk and rammed herself hard Blacephalon's gut, squeaking, "MOONLIGHT BLADE!"

With that, Blacephalon felt too weak to continue, thus he fell hard on his back and lay there unconscious while Gardevoir landed gracefully against the floor. She then took many deep breaths and turned toward the staircase with a smile. She just knew Deoxys would soon meet the same fate.


	6. Chapter 6

Shortly after the last of Deoxys' allies had fallen, Machoke finally made it to the top of the staircase leading to the alien's quarters. He breathed heavily and stood before the entrance, falling down on one knee and resting his hands against the door. He looked at the floor and coughed up a bit of phloem with an annoyed look on his face.

"Who the hell installs a staircase that goddamn huge!?" he complained before releasing more breaths, "Shit, at least the others were actually reasonable! God, how did he even get all the way up here without exhausting himself!?"

He then righted himself up and regained his composure, clearing his throat before breathing in and out. Right now, all that mattered was defeating Deoxys in a rematch and saving his daughter. After all, he had run all the way here and there was no way he would back down now.

Deoxys, all the while, had Machop seated in a special chair he had made himself just for her. He implied a smile with his eyes and said, "Don't get too comfortable. Once your daddy and his friends have been slaughtered, I'm going to make sure you learn to walk and fight as soon as possible, by any means necessary."

However, his eyes widened when he heard a loud knock on his door. And when he turned, sure enough, Machoke had managed to knock it off its hinges with a hard kick. He then gritted his teeth, steam shooting from his nostrils as he pointed and barked, "Give my back my daughter, you asshole!"

The alien continued to stare, about to question how he had made it. Though when he saw that the man was alone, he nodded and said, "I see. You abandoned your friends so you could make it here. Fatherly love sure does make you do crazy things."

"Shut it!" Machoke retorted, "I know they've all wiped the floor with your allies, just like I'm gonna wipe the floor with you!"

Deoxys narrowed his eyelids and grunted, "You know, your father was just as irritating and stubborn as you were. No matter how many times he fell down, no matter how many times he should have died, he kept coming back for more punishment. That's why I stabbed you in the chest when I had the chance, and yet somehow, you still managed to survive! But no matter."

Machop looked at her father only for Deoxys to pick up the seat he had placed her in. Machoke gritted his teeth and growled, "Unhand her!" only for the alien to roll his eyes and sigh, "Relax. I'm merely moving her to a safer location so she won't get hurt during our fight. After all, the last thing I want is to accidentally kill my protege."

He then locked her seat to a shelf high above the floor before leaping back down, Machoke becoming angrier by the second. Even though he already knew in advance what Deoxys had planned, hearing him say it made his blood boil. There was no way he would allow the alien to get away with this.

However, just as he was about to charge at him, he then remembered what Aipom would likely tell him to do in this situation. She would likely tell him to calm down and think strategically. After all, he had been caught off guard too easily during the first encounter. But now he knew some of Deoxys' techniques and had a perfect chance to take advantage of that.

With that in mind, the man took a deep breath and frowned, saying, "Mark my words. Machop will never serve evil, especially not you," Deoxys sighing, "Keep telling yourself that," racing toward Machoke with his tentacles at the ready.

An aura surrounded all four as he spat, "COSMIC WHIP!" sending them toward Machoke's face only for him to raise his hands and take hold of the tentacles, two in each hand.

Deoxys' eyes were wide with shock when the man flung him around and slammed him hard into the wall. He then smirked and grunted, "Not only do we Machs have a high tolerance for pain, but we also tend to learn from past experiences!"

Before the alien could even respond, Machoke took full advantage of his state and raced toward him, ramming his elbow into his gut. He then wrapped his arms around him, making sure to keep his tentacles locked in place so he could not save himself with them this time. And with that, the man leaned backward and lifted the alien up, planting the back of his head into the floor.

Machop giggled and clapped, seeming to enjoy this while Machoke released his hold on Deoxys and allowed him to collapse. He then grinned at the baby and asked, "Did you see that, Machop? Daddy kicked the mean freak show's butt!"

Just hearing Machoke use that word brought back painful memories for Deoxys. While none of his peers back on Mercury ever called him that, they did call him similar names. As such, he narrowed his eyelids and growled, "I AM NOT A FREAK!"

He then rose to his feet and suddenly started to mold his body into a new form. Machoke turned to face him with horror while the blue stripes on his legs grew in length, now reaching down the entire front side of each. A spike formed on each of his knees while his tentacles became thinner and more like actual whips. The square shaped protrusions on the sides of his head were now triangular, a long pointy tail grew out of his rear end and most of his upper body went from orange to black.

"You know, it took Machamp a lot to draw out my attack form," Deoxys growled, "You should feel honoured to fall victim to it so soon in the match."

Machoke refused to let this get to him and attempted to fight back only for Deoxys to send his tentacles into his shoulders and forearms, shouting, "COSMIC SPEARS!"

Machoke cried out in pain while Deoxys drew him inward and pierced his knees with his spikes. He then leapt backward and planted the back of Machoke's head into the floor, shouting, "COSMIC SPIKE SUPLEX!" the man already coughing up blood while the alien released his hold and allowed him to collapse.

Just like before, Deoxys had already managed to deal incredible damage with only a couple of hits. But now it was even worse since he knew Machoke could likely survive another stab to the chest. As such, he readied his tentacles and grunted, "Now to make sure you stay dead!"

However, all Machoke had to do was direct his gaze over to Machop to regain his fighting spirit, thus he spat, "OH NO YOU DON'T!" lifting his feet up and aiming them toward Deoxys' chest.

His eyes widened, though, when the alien once again changed form. His upper body became completely orange again but his entire body was now more bulky. His legs were now twice their original width and flatter on the bottom with a bluish-green spot on each knee. His tentacles were now thick and more like long rectangles. He no longer had a neck as his head had fused with the rest of his body and his protrusions had vanished, making his head look more like a helmet.

He folded his tentacles in front of his face, the aura still surrounding them as he shouted, "COSMIC BARRIER!" Thus when Machoke's feet rammed into them, they had no effect whatsoever. In fact, a sharp pain had actually coursed through Machoke's legs as a result as he cried out in pain, Machop now looking concerned.

"You even gave me a reason to use my defence form," Deoxys quipped before shifting back into his attack form, "Not many fighters are good enough to pull that off."

Machoke gritted his teeth as he realized he would really need to think now. Even though the fight had not lasted a long time, Deoxys was clearly pulling out all the stops. Thus Machoke would have to find some way to hit him before he could activate his defence form again.

As such, he simply stood his ground and waved his hand toward himself as if to challenge Deoxys to hit him again. The alien implied a smirk and raced toward the man, preparing to stab him with his tentacles again. But just as he was about to do so, Machoke raced forward and lowered himself, sliding right between the alien's legs and reaching for his ankles.

However, he was shocked when Deoxys leapt into the air just in time to avoid it, his appearance once again changing. He now had a more sleek body with thin lines along his legs. Now only his head, hip joints and chest area were orange as the rest of him had become black. He only had two tentacles, but now they looked more like actual whips. His protrusions pointed upward and a long spike jutted out the back of his head.

"And now you've brought out my speed form," Deoxys sighed before landing quickly enough to plant his feet against Machoke's hands, "Boy, aren't you lucky?"

He then leapt slightly back from Machoke and lifted him up with his tentacles, hurling the man the wall. And before Machoke could even figure out what just happened, Deoxys sped toward him and rammed his skull into his gut, shouting, "COSMIC ROCKET DASH!"

Machoke coughed up even more blood, his eyes and mouth wide with terror. Deoxys backed away from him and took on his attack form once more, implying a smile with his eyes and saying, "Don't look so down. You lasted longer than most opponents I've faced. Not as long as your dad, but still."

The man continued to stare at the alien in horror. How had Machamp managed to defeat him back in the day? This seemed impossible. He had a different form for every situation.

However, it was at that moment that Machoke remembered all the other villains he had faced prior to this moment. Beedrill, Rotom, Bisharp, Talonflame, Medicham, Ninetales, Missingno, Giratina, Ditto, Ditta, Vespiquen and Hoopa, they had all been incredibly challenging adversaries for him. Each one of them along with various heroes he had fought in tournaments put his skills to the ultimate test, and in the end, he had managed to defeat almost all of them with Lucario having been the only exception.

And when he heard Machop scream, "Papa!" he knew he could not allow Deoxys to win no matter how powerful he was. All the while, a light tear ran down his cheek as he sniffed, "Only three days old and she's already calling me Papa."

Deoxys blinked and uttered, "The hell are you going on about?" only for Machoke to clench his fists and grit his teeth, barking, "Hey, why are you standing around!? This match isn't over yet!"

The alien narrowed his eyelids and sent his tentacles toward Machoke only for the man to leap over them. He then descended toward Deoxys' head with his foot out only only for the alien to take on his defence form again. But this time, Machoke was prepared as he pointed his other foot forward and spread out his legs, wrapping them around the alien's head when he was close enough.

He then leaned backward and planted his palms against the floor, shouting, "Going up!" Deoxys' eyes wide with shock when the man managed to lift him up and drive his skull into the surface with a frankensteiner.

What surprised Deoxys even more than the fact that Machoke had managed to pull this off was just how much it hurt. When Machamp defeated him, the circumstances were similar, but he had used his Ultimate Driver to hurt him while he was in his defence form. Yet somehow, Machoke did not even need to do that.

"You know, Lucario defeated my Mach Cover technique in a similar fashion when I fought him," Machoke explained with a smirk, "Even the mightiest of bodies can take in damage with enough height."

"No!" the alien retorted before propelling himself back to his feet and taking on his speed form, "You can't beat what you can't hit!" racing around the area before body checking Machoke. After causing the man to wince, he resumed running and struck him again. But after the third time, the man knew what he could do about this, thus he closed his eyes.

Deoxys rushed toward him from the side only for Machoke to throw out his fist and punch him square in the face, knocking him on his back while he skidded across the floor and into the wall. He started to tremble as he uttered, "How did you do that? Even Machamp wasn't able to stop my speed form that easily," Machoke smirking and remarking, "All I did was listen to your footsteps."

Deoxys glared angrily at the man and morphed back into his normal form, shouting, "I will have my revenge, and I'll do it using my most basic form!"

But when he sent his tentacles forward, Machoke could already tell he had won this fight. Deoxys was clearly out of ideas, and thus the man took full advantage of this and took hold of his tentacles one last time. And before the alien could even try to retaliate, Machoke hurled him high into the air and knelt down, saying, "By the way, while the Ultimate Driver may be powerful, I've invented a couple of my own moves."

Deoxys was truly mortified, Machop cheering and clapping while Machoke launched himself off the floor and rolled up into a ball. He then spun vertically into the alien's back and reached his arms and legs back, locking Deoxys' tentacles and ankles in place. The man proceeded to spin like a wheel while he descended toward the floor and shouted, "THIS IS THE FIRST FINISHING MOVE I MADE MYSELF, SUNSET SLAM!"

Deoxys closed his eyes and thought, 'Why?' his belly hitting the floor hard before he cried out in agonizing pain. And it only got worse for him when Machoke took hold of the back of his head and rammed his face hard into the material, finally knocking him out for good.

He breathed heavily and looked down at the alien, sighing, "I imagine you must have had a reason for doing what you did, but whatever it was, it wasn't worth it. Evil is never worth it."

He then leapt up to the shelf where Machop had been seated and scooped her up, cradling her in his arms and saying, "It's alright, sweetie. You're safe and sound now," the baby touching the man's face lightly before yawning and drifting off to sleep.

It was at that moment that Gardevoir had finally climbed the steps and entered the room, gasping, "Machoke, is everything o-!?" the man placing his finger against his lips and shushing her. When the woman saw their baby girl in Machoke's arms, all was clear as she smiled softly and walked over to him, resting an arm around his shoulder and sighing with relief. She knew Machoke would win, but she had still needed to see the results for herself.

And soon enough, everyone was fully recovered and standing outside. Deoxys and his followers were naturally placed under arrest and were to be taken back to Hero Planet. While he was loaded up into the back of a prison ship, he looked weakly at Machoke before looking down with a hopeless expression. Now he knew for sure that his goal of taking over the universe was nothing more than a stupid pipe dream.

Beedrill and Butterfree, who were both healthy enough to head back with the authorities, bowed their heads to the heroes. Both wished they could have helped more, but Machoke reassured them that they had assisted enough by simply telling them about the tower.

And once the ship with the prisoners had taken off toward Hero Planet, Machoke let out a sigh and said, "I'm sorry you all had to do this. You all put everything on hold for a birthday party but instead had to, in a matter of speaking, go back to work."

"It was no trouble at all," Blaziken remarked with a smirk, "Kicking evil's ass after so many years felt beyond satisfying," Gallade nodding and adding, "And did I mention I actually beat Genesect all on my own!?"

All except Hitmonchan groaned, "Only a hundred times already," the boxer kissing him on the lips and saying, "You're all just jealous of his badassery."

Scyther sighed, "My only regret was not helping out more," only for Hitmonchan to shake her head and reply, "Hey, you did a good job. It's not like I've never suffered defeat before," the insect smiling and replying, "Danke."

"Remember, Machoke, we are always here to help you when you need it," Lucario stated, he, Machoke and Gardevoir sharing a big hug before the reptilian man turned to Aipom and said, "I just knew you'd beat Rotom."

Aipom chuckled and replied, "Yeah, it actually felt pretty good letting him have it. But I'm much more proud of you right now. I know you've saved the world before, but it still amazes me that my own pupil has managed to pull that off three times now."

Machoke and the monkey shared a hug of their own when Blaziken grinned and said, "Now, I believe we all still have a party to set up, don't we?"

A week later, everyone helped set up for Machop's first official birthday party, all of Machoke and Gardevoir's friends more than happy to do this. And needless to say, the event went by without a hitch. Even though Machop was a baby and hardly knew what was going on, she still very clearly had a fun time.

Of course, shortly after, those not living in Tokyo had to return to their respective countries. Though it seemed as if Gallade and Hitmonchan would not be away from Machoke and Gardevoir for long as both had revealed that they were actually planning on moving to Paris very soon. Needless to say, Gallade was beyond ecstatic.

And of course, Machop would later grow up to be a hero just like her father, though she did have struggles of her own to overcome. If you would like to know what those were, well, you can read it for yourself.


End file.
